Kerys hopeful of England debut

Birmingham defender Kerys Harrop has received her first England senior team call-up for next month’s friendly against Olympic bronze medallists Canada.

The Three Lions will renew acquaintances with John Herdman’s side at the Millers’ New York Stadium on Sunday 7th April, just over three weeks after beating them 1-0 in the Cyprus Cup final.

Harrop was a part of the Blues squad that won their first-ever FA Women’s Cup last season and she helped her country win the UEFA European Women’s U19 Championship in 2009.

Liverpool captain Gemma Bonner is back in the squad following her first involvement in March last year.

Karen Carney has been ruled out with an ankle ligament injury but there are recalls for Claire Rafferty, Jade Moore and Carly Telford.

National Coach Hope Powell said: “Kerys has done well with the Under-23s and we have been monitoring her for a while.

“She was with the 23s in La Manga last year and I asked her to take part in a training session with the seniors and she did OK so this is another opportunity for me to have a look at her.

“The team are doing well at the moment so it will give me a chance to see how she, and Gemma Bonner, cope in this environment.”

Powell believes Canada will be seeking revenge for the defeat in Cyprus, but says it is exactly the test her side need to face as England seek a level of consistency ahead of Euro 2013.

She added: “Canada will have a point to prove.

“I think we deserve a bit of credit for implementing our game plan very well. We stifled them considerably and won the game, so they will probably want a bit of revenge next month.

“It will be a good test for us because we have to sustain our level of play. In Cyprus we played well against Italy but not so well against Scotland, then we had to improve our performance for the New Zealand game and the final.

“We have to find a consistency before the Euros and so playing Canada again so soon makes it the ideal challenge, one we are all looking forward to.”